Turn Turn Turn!
by Bluebird1013
Summary: A new agent learns about life and living from those that have been there
1. Prologue: A time to Die

Title- Turn! Turn! Turn!   
  
Rating- PG  
  
Archive- anywhere just let me know where it goes  
  
Spoilers- Just about every episode  
  
Disclaimer- I certainly dont own these charcters, they all belong to JJ and Bad Robot productions. teh sond is Turn!Turn!Turn by the Byrds and I dont own it either.  
  
Category- Romance/Angst S/V  
  
AN- I just want to thank my sister for being such an awesome Beta. And alo JJ for creating such brilliant characters to have fun with. Reviews and constructive critisism welcome. This is the longest fic i have ever tried to write and my first for Alias so i hope everyone enoys it. The next chapters will follow hopefulyl ona daily or semi daily basis, as most are already written  
Prologue: A Time to Die  
  
December 2004  
  
He was going to die today. Michael Vaughn knew this. It was surprising to him how easy this fact was to accept. He had been on many dangerous missions in his career with the CIA, but never had he believed they would be his last. Until this one.   
  
'What makes this one different?' he asked himself, as he prepared for the mission. The only answer he could come up with was that this time he was on a mission for himself. In the past he had been working with his "asset" Sydney Bristow. Those missions were all about her, her revenge, her desires, her mother, and her fiancée. Never had he gone to find out something for himself. His whole life he had wanted to grow up and be like his father, a patriot, and a man who died for his country. When Sydney came into his life all that changed, she changed him and his life's work had become her crusade. He never minded, he loved her. More than he ever thought possible, her wants were his wants, her needs were his needs, her missions became his obsession. And when she was free and they were free to be together the life they shared had been perfect. Their love was strong enough to weather any storm, they had waited so long to be together and nothing would tear them apart. Or so he thought.  
  
When he told Sydney about this mission she had become irate that he was leaving. She was done with the CIA and did not want him to be in any danger. She wanted them to be together without the dysfunction that was the CIA. He tried to explain why this mission was so important to him, he thought she would understand, but she didn't. And he could not give in. This was too important. Before he left, Sydney had told him that if he went on this mission then he should consider them through. The thought of losing Sydney was a palpable pain in his heart, but he would not give up on this mission. This mission would lay to rest the demon that defined who Michael Vaughn was, and who he had become. Michael Vaughn strapped on the mic wire and headed out of the van to meet with destiny.  
Operation Headquarters  
"Boyscout this is Command Ops are you in place?"  
  
Agent Weiss heard the voice of his best friend Michael Vaughn answering over the over the comm.   
  
"Boyscout is in place, proceeding to south entrance"  
  
"10-4 Boyscout, see you on the flip side" Weiss responded.  
  
Weiss could hear the team move forward. He knew the plan backwards and forwards and watched on infrared the team split into two, two headed to the west and the other three continued to the south entrance.  
  
"Base Ops, confirm that video surveillance has been disabled"  
  
"Video surveillance has been disabled Boyscout, what's going on?" Weiss answered. Weiss was concerned about the tone in Vaughns voice. He was always so confident and yet he now sounded worried.  
  
"I don't know, I just feel like I am being watched."  
  
"Must be your Guardian Angel, Boyscout"  
  
"Can't be, she left me"  
  
"Pity Party of one, your table is ready." He joked "Ease up Boyscout, it will all work out in the end" Weiss responded.  
  
"Yeah well we'll see"   
  
Weiss could hear some of the movement inside the house and being able to watch it on the infrared helped to an extent but Weiss still wished he were there to get his buddies back. Suddenly Weiss could hear gunfire, it sounded like it was coming from all directions, he looked at his screen and saw more men moving in. He could see at least 5 men enter the room Vaughn was in. He could hear through the comm Vaughn firing back at the men. He breathed a short sigh of relief, watching the men be taken down. Then Weiss heard the sickening sound of a gun cocking and he knew it wasn't Mikes.  
  
"Take out his legs!!" Weiss yelled to Vaughn hoping that he could still hear him. Weiss stood up and leaned into his desk for support.  
  
"Weiss we're drawing alot of fire, we've taken down five men so far but I can hear more coming this way!!!"  
  
Weiss tried frantically to come up with a plan to help out his best friend, their intel had been wrong, the house was supposed to have been minimally secured and this was anything but. He turned when he heard a voice behind him.  
  
"Weiss what's happening, where is Vaughn?" The tall dark haired woman was asking in a panicked voice.  
  
"Syd, they're surrounded, the intel must have been wrong. We're working on it, calm down."  
  
Just then they heard Vaughns voice come back over the comm, "Hold on its dying down, they're retreating, what the hell is going on Weiss"  
  
"I don't know man, can you get out of there?"  
  
"Someone's coming."  
  
The line went silent for a few unbearable seconds. When Vaughns voice came back on the line the words he said caused a wave a shock to reverberate through the command center.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Say good bye son." A soft voice was heard through the comm connection.  
  
"Tell Syd I love her, Vaughn out"  
  
Sydney Bristow grabbed to headset off of Weiss and tried to reach Vaughn, to convince him to fight, what she heard instead would alter her world forever.  
  
BANG!!!  
  
"VAUUUUUUUGNNNNN NOOOOOOOO"   
  
Weiss heard Sydney screaming but he could not move could not think. He ripped off his headphones and sat down on the floor. He could vaguely hear people all around calling for more backup and another team to go in and try and extract the remaining agents. Weiss didn't help, he couldn't. He felt Sydney sit down next to him and clutch his arm, but he couldn't even bring himself to respond, he had just lost the best friend he had ever had.  
. 


	2. A Time to Build Up

Chapter 1 : A Time to Build up  
September 2009  
  
CIA Headquarters  
Langley, Virginia  
Today was the day he had been waiting for, working towards and   
dreading all at the same time. He looked in the bathroom mirror. In   
it he saw his brown hair, in it s constantly mussed up state. No   
matter how hard he tried it just never seemed to behave. His hazel   
eyes stared back at him from behind gold rimmed glasses. He always   
wished that he looked more like a movie star, a man that women took   
notice of right away, but he had grown accustomed to his looks and   
now found them to be an asset. The man looking back at him lived   
alone; he had no wife, no children, and no girlfriend. He was the   
only child of wonderful parents that had tragically died in a car   
crash 3 years ago. He had no pets, not even goldfish. He had not   
wanted anything that would tie him down. He knew in his new job he   
would need to be free, nothing and nobody to worry about when he was   
away and no one to worry about him during his travels. Many would   
find this life boring and lonely, but it was what made him the   
perfect CIA agent. And today was his first day on the job since he   
completed training. Today he was going to meet his supervisor; he was   
going to start making a difference in the world. He was thrilled to   
have become one of the elite but it terrified him at the same time.  
  
Malone took one more look in the mirror and turned out the light in   
the bathroom and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of Orange   
Juice and scarfed down a corn muffin. He grabbed his keys and his   
briefcase and headed out the door. He jumped into his car and headed   
to the office. He turned on the radio and rolled down the windows   
to enjoy the beautiful weather that the DC area was being blessed   
with. A cheesy love song started and he listened for only a   
minute. 'No point in thinking about sappy crap like that. Love would   
only get in the way of his career.' His changed the station until he   
heard the heavy sound of an old Metallica tune. 'That's more like it'   
The rest of the way he sang along with the heavy metal music blaring   
out of the speakers and thought about the best way to make a good   
first impression with the new boss.  
  
He knew that he was to meet with his supervisor, Assistant Director   
Weiss. Knowing that he was to work under an Agency legend like AD   
Weiss was a bit nerve-racking. The man had been on the front line in   
the search for Irina Derevko and was shot while trying to retrieve   
vital intel. He came back to the Agency and was then instrumental in   
securing the intel that brought down the Alliance. Just thinking   
about that Operation sent chills down Malone's spine. The Agency had   
had a lot of great Ops over the years but the one that brought down   
the Alliance was what created legends like AD Weiss, who had been   
transferred to Langley two years prior. He had asked questions about   
the time and operations surrounding the take down of the Alliance but   
most were never answered and much of what he knew was based on   
hearsay and speculation.  
  
Malone pulled into a parking space and took one final look at his   
reflection in the rearview mirror. He walked toward the building in   
his blue suit from The Mens Warehouse and disappeared into the line   
of people making their way towards the security checkpoint. He   
entered the CIA building and looked immediately to the floor where a   
large inlay showed the Company seal. His heart beat faster and he   
started to break out onto a sweat. There was no turning back now. He   
passed through security and was led to the 5 floor. He found his way   
to AD Weiss's office.  
  
"Agent Malone, to meet with Assistant Director Weiss." He spoke   
kindly to the assistant out side the door.  
  
"The director is in a meeting at the moment. Have a seat and I will   
tell him know you are here."  
  
Malone could see into Weiss' office and saw a woman sitting in one of   
the chairs in front of the desk. A man, who he assumed was AD Weiss,   
was crouched down in front of her, talking earnestly. From what he   
could gather the two were having some sort of disagreement. The woman   
was vigorously gesturing about something and AD Weiss grabbed her   
shoulders and tried to speak to her. She was not listening, as far as   
he could figure. She stood abruptly and poked the AD in the chest.   
Malone was surprised that someone would be so bold as to make contact   
with the AD. He assumed the woman was his wife or girlfriend, based   
on the fact that no agent would dare treat the AD the way she had.   
As he contemplated the situation the woman yanked open the door.  
  
"After all these years, I would think you would know me better than   
that."  
  
For the first time Malone got a look at the woman. She was beautiful   
but weathered. She had a classic look about her, dignified and   
strong, yet Malone could easily see what appeared to be years of   
worry etched in her face. She carried herself with self-assurance   
that Malone had never seen before.  
  
"I do know you, but you have to let go. This has become a dangerous   
obsession. Its time to move on with your life." Weiss answered.  
  
"I can't let it go. You of all people should know that." She   
sighed, "I will talk to you later." The woman turned to go but   
seemed to think twice about it and turned back to AD Weiss and gave   
him a kiss and a hug. "Thank you," she said quietly and was gone.   
She paid no attention to Malone as he sat in the waiting area.  
  
AD Weiss stood at the door to his office watching the woman leave. He   
had a haunted look on his face and seemed to be lost in thought.   
Malone vowed to never let a woman have that much power over him, it   
could only lead to distraction and problems in the field.  
  
"You must be Malone, come on in" The AD was finally speaking o him.  
  
Malone stood up and walked into the office and sat down in the seat   
the woman had vacated. Weiss stood behind his desk and read through   
his file occasionally grunting or nodding his head. He finally put   
the file down and looked at Malone for a long minute.  
  
"Why did you join the CIA?" Weiss asked.  
  
"Well sir, long story short, I have always wanted to work for the   
Agency, ever since I was a kid, I love the intrigue and the thought   
that I could do something for my country. "  
  
"It says here you speak 10 languages, that's pretty impressive."  
  
"Yes sir, I have always had an ear for languages, my mom was French   
and my father Spanish, so I grew up speaking both, when we moved to   
the States I was immersed in the language at school but kept up the   
other two at home. In school I took as many languages as possible. So   
now I speak, English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Farsi, Portuguese,   
Russian, Japanese, Dutch, and Greek."  
  
"Bit of an overachiever eh. Well, the Agency needs people like you.   
Glad to have you on board. I know that you signed on with the hope   
of being in the field but before we send you out you will need to be   
on the other side. You will work with me as my second hand. You will   
be by my side as I run Ops with my field agent." Weiss said, "Once I   
see that you know how the other side works I will let you go on a few   
field Ops. Recon missions and surveillance to start." He paused, "You   
look like you have a question Malone, well, spit it out. Don't stand   
on formality."  
  
"Well to be honest sir, I am just surprised that you still work on   
operations. I would have though that a man in your position would no   
longer be working with field agents."  
  
"For the most part you are right. In general I supervise agents such   
as you during the missions but I am the contact for one agent. I have   
worked with this agent for years and we have rapport. You will learn   
in this business Malone, that when you find someone you can trust you   
don't let them go."  
  
"Yes sir, I look forward to working with you and your agent. May I   
ask who the agent is sir?"  
  
"You may ask, but you do not need to know that information right now.   
Soon enough you will know more than you ever wanted to know. My   
assistant will show you to you temporary desk and get you filling out   
the paperwork I will need, emergency contacts and such."  
  
"I don't have an emergency contact sir"  
  
"What no wife or girlfriend?" Weiss asked.  
  
"No sir, nothing tying me down, no one worrying about me."  
  
"Well Malone, while it may seem sometimes that you have chosen the   
right path, not having someone worrying about you, or having someone   
to worry about, let me tell you, sometimes having someone to come   
home to, having someone worth fighting for, is the only thing that   
keeps you going." Weiss sounded almost sad when he spoke about love   
and it import.  
  
"Yes sir." Malone turned to leave when Weiss excused him. As he got   
to the door, he turned around and spoke one last time. "If I may sir,   
I am sure your wife will forgive you for whatever it is that has   
happened"  
  
Weiss looked confused for a second until it dawned on him what the   
young agent was taking about. "She's not my wife and if you knew   
her, you would know that she gives up on nothing."  
  
Malone nodded his head and walked out of the office. The receptionist   
led him to his desk and he started on his paperwork. He looked up   
once to see the woman from Weiss' office walking past his door. On   
second glance, he saw the she was overly thin and looked distraught   
if not determined. He hoped that whatever was bothering her would   
resolve itself, and went back to his forms. 


	3. A time to gain

Disclaimer- please see previous chapters for disclaimer information and add on the fact that don't own Casablanca or any of the characters in that amazing movie. If you haven't seen I highly recommend it.  
  
Authors notes- I want to send a huge thanks to those that have reviewed my story so far. It means a heck of a lot to me to know that someone is actually reading this story besides me. I am always up for constructive critism so if there is something that you don't think works please let me , of course I would love any type of feedback.   
  
I would also like to thank my sister for her awesome Betaing skills, she has really helped me get and keep this story in line and moving forward and is quick to point out when I stop making sense.  
  
This is a repost of this chapter with a change in the Chapter name- I accidnetaly named it incorrectly- but its the same thing.  
Chapter 2: A Time to Plant  
  
December 2009  
Malone quickly settled into a routine. He spent 12 hours a day at the   
office, looking over old case files and new intel. He had made a few   
friends at the Agency but for the most part kept to himself. He would   
have a lunch meeting with AD Weiss 3 times a week, and after the 3rd   
week on the job the AD had insisted that Malone stop calling   
him 'sir' and just stick to Weiss. As the AD put it, it made him   
feel old and stuffy and he was not becoming old and stuffy without a   
fight.  
  
Malone really liked working with Weiss. He was fun, but professional.   
He knew his stuff and was willing to "impart his oh so great wisdom   
on those beneath him." Malone had already learned so much from his   
boss/mentor that he didn't even feel like the same person. He could   
not imagine the amount of knowledge that Weiss had in his head.  
  
He had seen the woman from Weiss' office only twice since that first   
day. Each time he saw he noticed more about her. The haunted look,   
the fact he she only talked to Weiss, her reserve (that many called   
ice in her veins). He had attempted to talk to her once and she   
looked through him and then walked away. At that point he decided to   
just watch her from a distance. He noticed that she would stop and   
stare at the younger agents with a wistful look on her face and once   
he caught her staring at a couple on the street as he was coming into   
the office. The couple had been kissing goodbye and she was   
mesmerized. Her face showed an array of emotions that Malone could   
not quite make out, hope?jealousy?sadness?   
  
That was the day he tried to talk to her, but she didn't notice, she   
was in her own world. He felt sorry for her. She looked so sad all   
the time. Each time Malone saw the woman alone he noticed that   
seemed distant, almost as if walked in a world that he did not   
inhabit. He had never known someone to be as sad as this woman   
appeared to be and it pained him to see the haunted expression in her   
eyes. He was not sure what was driving this obsession of his, maybe   
it was the fact that he couldn't understand the depth of her pain. He   
wanted to find out who she was and what she did at the Agency. He had   
walked all over the building and never saw her in an office or at any   
meetings. He asked some of his new friends if they knew who she was   
and no one seemed to have any idea. At least the younger agents did   
not know, he asked AD Kendall once and the director told him to pay   
attention to his own work and not worry about others. Malone glanced   
at the clock above his desk and realized he was going to be late for   
lunch; he stopped his musing and grabbed his coat then headed out the   
door.  
He rounded the corner and looked towards the Deli where he and AD   
Weiss were set to meet. He saw Weiss talking with the mysterious   
woman and slowed down keeping his ears open. He didn't feel right   
eavesdropping, but he did it anyway. Malone desperately wanted to   
know what the two were talking about. He figured eavesdropping was   
the only way to learn more and he knew that if he were spotted they   
would break off all conversation.  
  
"5 years Weiss, that's how long it's been. I can't let this   
information go without at least checking it out. I owe him that much.   
I should have been there. He never let me down and that's seems to be   
all I did to him"  
  
"Its not your fault, he would have gone with or without you, you   
couldn't stop what happened to him." he said, "You have to let it   
go, your killing yourself, he would not want this life for you and   
you know that." Weiss replied almost angrily.   
  
Malone saw her put her head down and she appeared to be fighting back   
tears. "I loved him and I let him down. I can't let it go now"  
  
'Ahh' Malone thought 'she's upset over something she did or   
apparently didn't do to her boyfriend. Well that explains the sad   
looks. Malone wondered for a moment what had happened 5 years ago   
but could not think of anything major that had happened within the   
Company. Malone approached the pair, hoping that they would continue   
on in their conversation and he could learn more. When he reached the   
table the woman looked up at him and sighed. She stood up and turned   
to look at Weiss one last time before walking off.  
  
Malone sat down at the table with Weiss, who smiled at him and   
started in on a cheesy joke. Weiss was famous for his really bad   
jokes and Malone often had to remember to laugh. Malone was surprised   
to see Weiss act as if nothing had happened, when form what he could   
tell it had been anything but a fun meeting with the woman. He   
stopped trying to figure him out when he heard Weiss finish a joke   
and wait expectantly for a reaction.  
  
"Their both purple except the Elephant!!!!"  
  
Malone gave the customary courtesy laugh and ordered a burger from   
the waitress who had appeared at his side. Weiss ordered a grilled   
cheese and they sat in silence for a moment.  
  
"So Malone I have been pretty impressed with the work you have done   
so far." Malone smiled and waited for him to continue, " We have   
some information that could prove to be very interesting. My agent   
will be going in to try and get verification. We'll be headed to   
France in the morning. You up for a trip?"  
  
Malone was thrilled, his first trip with the Agency, and if Weiss was   
going along then it would be big. He had heard rumors about Weiss's   
agent, Mountaineer. Supposedly one of the best the CIA had ever had,   
and apparently a real jerk. Refused to work with anyone but Weiss,   
once he was unable to help with an op and Mountaineer refused to go   
until he could accompany the team. Had real trust issues that one,   
but Malone figured that that's what happened when you had been in the   
field for as long as Mountaineer had. Weiss could handle most of the   
Ops from LA but this was the first time, since Malone joined, that   
they were going to have to travel.   
  
"What's in France?" Malone asked.  
  
Weiss gave him a critical eye and Malone thought for a second that he   
wasn't going to answer. "The agent is going to intercept a package   
that needs to be copied and then returned before it's missed. I need   
to be there to insure that it goes smoothly." He added, "And I   
haven't been to France in a while so I figured now is as good a time   
as any" Weiss smiled at his last remark.   
  
"When do we leave?" Malone asked  
  
"Plane leaves tomorrow at 6. We will be meeting Mountaineer to get   
the package around 10, if all goes well."  
The plane took off right at 6. Malone immersed himself in the case   
file. There was a lot he did not understand about the mission and a   
lot he never would. One name kept popping up though and he wanted   
more information.  
  
"Weiss, who is Michael Vaughn?" The entire plane grew quiet as all   
the other agents looked uncomfortable for a moment and then went back   
to work. Malone could sense the tension in the room and it gave him   
goose bumps but he still waited for the answer. Weiss looked at   
Malone long and hard before answering.  
  
"Michael Vaughn was an Agent who was killed 5 years ago on a mission."  
  
"What does this mission have to do with him, there seems to be a lot   
of mention of him and someone who appears to be his father?" Malone   
asked unsure if he was reading the file right or if he was jumping to   
conclusions.  
  
Again Weiss appeared to be thinking hard about his answer, "Vaughn's   
father was also CIA, it was thought that he had had been killed by   
Irina Derevko when Vaughn was a kid. Before Vaughn's death we found   
some intel led Vaughn to believe that his father was not dead." Weiss   
answered "He led a team into a compound where we believed his father   
was being held hostage. The intel we had was wrong, he was not being   
held hostage, and when Vaughn's team entered the building they were   
ambushed and in the resulting confusion he was able to let us know   
that his father was alive. We believe it was his father that killed   
him."  
  
"So what does this have to do with the mission now?" Malone asked   
still confused as to the import of this story.  
  
"The package that Mountaineer is retrieving is a disk, as disk that   
we have been told may contain information that will confirm that   
Vaughn's father is still alive and hopefully we can find out where he   
has been and bring him in."  
  
"Why is the CIA interested in this after all these years?"  
  
"One thing you will learn greenhorn, is that although the agency may   
leave some agents out to fend for themselves, when you have given as   
much and been as loyal as Vaughn, resources and exceptions will be   
made to bring them home, or at least bring closure."  
  
Malone thought about this for a while and came to the conclusion that   
whoever this Vaughn guy was, he was one lucky son of a bitch. 5 years   
after his death and the Agency was still willing to waste resources   
and time and jeopardize agents in the process to find out what   
happened to him. Malone could only hope that he would be thought of   
as fondly, and with such loyalty should he ever go down in the field.  
  
The team entered the operations headquarters and started setting up   
in anticipation of Mountaineers arrival. Malone watched as Weiss sat   
down and put his headset on. 5 minutes later he heard him make   
contact with Mountaineer. Watching Weiss work with Mountaineer was   
always interesting for Malone. They obviously had a great working   
relationship, Weiss seemed to visibly relax when talking to his   
agent, even though they were under enormous amounts of stress He   
noted that Weiss' voice became more fluid, bits of his usual humor   
combined with an easy professionalism as he talked. Glancing over at   
his boss, he noticed that much of the tension had faded from his   
body, as years of training and experience allowed the stress and   
danger-induced adrenaline to work for him instead of against him. It   
seemed to make him sharper.   
Malone's ears perked when he heard Weiss say 'good job, see you when   
you get here.' Malone got the computer ready to copy the disk that   
the agent was bringing back. It was not a long wait. He had gotten   
up to get a cup of coffee when the door to their makeshift   
headquarters opened and in walked a svelte blonde in black leather.   
To say he was surprised would be an understatement; never did he   
think that Mountaineer was a female. She handed the disk to Malone   
and walked over to Weiss who was sitting in his chair with a big   
smile on his face.  
  
"Hey good looking how about giving a fella a little lovin?"  
  
"Oh I'll give you a little lovin all right," They both laughed as   
Malone continued to stare in shock. Once he heard her speak Malone   
realized it was the woman from the office and the Deli. SHE was an   
agent; he would never have guessed it, with her striking looks, how   
did this woman ever blend into a crowd? She gave an expectant glance   
in Malone's direction She looked back at Weiss and he saw her raise   
an eyebrow as if asking an important question. Weiss just shrugged   
and looked back at her. She turned to Malone and stared it seemed   
straight into his soul.  
  
"I do need to get that disk back to its owner at some point tonight,"   
she said as she stared at his hand, which still held the disk she had   
given him. Malone started work on it right away embarrassed that he   
had been caught staring. She smiled and turned back to Weiss, who   
held up a paper bag and hollered, "I've got Ho-ho's!!!!!" The woman   
laughed and they both settled down to talk.  
  
Malone was busy making the disk copy and couldn't hear what they were   
saying. But he did pick up a few words; Vaughn, father, mother, but   
he couldn't make sense of it. What he did notice was that when Syd   
said Vaughn's name it was with a certain amount of reverence or awe-   
he could not quite figure out which.   
  
"Okay done" Malone said, interrupting their conversation.  
  
Mountaineer stood up and took the original back from Malone. She   
turned back to Weiss "You'll let me know what you find?"   
  
"Of course Syd- see you at home"  
  
Malone was watching her leave when a thought occurred to him. "Was   
that Sydney Bristow? I thought she retired?"  
  
Weiss just smiled and said, "She did" 


	4. A Time to Gather Stones Together

Disclaimers in previous chapters.  
  
I want to thank all those that reviewed, it means alot to me. I am always up for some constructive critisism so please let me know what it is about the story that makes it work for you and what you dont like. I have most of the story written but my wonderful sister/beta is being slow betaing them, seeing as how she is writing her own story at the moment, of course i am betaing that so we end up holding each others stories hostage, it generally gets us nowhere fast. But I will try to post them as quick as I can.   
  
I am now accepting anonymous reviews, thanks to the reviewer that pointed that error out to me.  
  
This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter, but dont worry, it does serve a purpose that will later be revealed. Sometime you gotta explain how you got from point A to point B, even if its not real exciting. The fun part of the story is on its way, not that these parts haven't been fun, but you know what I mean.  
Chapter 3: A Time to Gather Stones Together  
  
January 2010  
Malone slipped the key into the lock and pushed open the door to his apartment. With a practiced efficiency, he punched in the code to disarm his security system. Dropping his keys on the table positioned conveniently in the entry, he walked straight for his bedroom closet and pulled out his luggage.   
  
Mentally, he reviewed what he had learned in the past XXX weeks about Vaughn Snr.'s Organization. He had just gotten off of work. He was spending a huge amount of time there as the disk that Mountaineer had retrieved had proven an invaluable resource about the organization run by Agent Vaughn's father, a man that everyone referred to simply as "Vaughn senior". It seems that Irina Derevko had not killed him as had been suspected; She was working with him and carrying on an affair while his family thought he was dead. They had started a network of arms dealers that had grown in power but not really in size. They believed that the larger the organization the easier it was to infiltrate. Irina Derevko had been sent to infiltrate the CIA and garner whatever information she could on the Agencies knowledge of the organization.   
  
The disk told of their contacts and assets throughout the world, but most importantly, it identified their main holdings in Morocco. Malone had dedicated all his time to deciphering the disk and the codes that were on it. The techs would break a code and send it to Weiss and Malone and the two would work through the mountains of paperwork. All the while Malone had been given the responsibility of over seeing a few operations.  
  
All the time spent at work had Malone mentally and physically exhausted. He knew that in joining the CIA he would be exposed to some messed up stuff, but the intrigue and betrayal surrounding Irina Derevko and the Vaughns was more screwed up then even he could comprehend at times. 'Are there really people like this in the world. I guess so' malone knew he wasn't to only one putting in long hours and working to exhaustion. Weiss had been at the office before him veryday that week and was still there each night when he left. For that matter so was Sydney Bristow. He had seen her more in the last 2 weeks then he had in all his short time at the Agency.  
  
Malone was still intrigued by Agent Bristow. He had thought she retired a year after the Alliance fell. She was a legend within the Agency and most people talked about her and her work in hushed and awe inspired tones. Malone learned that she joined the Agency after the head of SD-6 murdered her fiancÈe, a med student. She had quickly become one of the most valuable assets the CIA had. It was as if whatever Bristow wanted she got. There was even a rumor that she had gotten someone a promotion so that they could work together. He wasn't sure this was true or not but it did lend to the air of mystrey that surrounded her. Who could she have cared that much about that she would demand something like that just so they could work together?  
  
Malone had looked up what he could in her file, he was anxious to learn all he could about her, maybe then he would figure out why she was back at the CIA, back out on Ops when everything said she had retired to be a teacher. He found very few useful things in her file, most of it was blacked out due to security issues, and even the name of her handler had been blacked out. Malone assumed it was because the Agent was on assignment and the CIA wanted no ties to one of their most famous spies.  
  
There was no personal information about her at all, not even an address or family information, the only thing he could find out was that her father was also one of the most respected and decorated agents, Jack Bristow and her mother was the infamous Irina Derevko.   
  
Malone knew that he would never be able to find out all he wanted to. He asked Weiss once, and nearly had his head bitten off. He learned that Weiss had a huge soft spot for Sydney Bristow but he could never figure out why. There was nothing romantic about them but a huge sense of intimacy. Malone noticed that Weiss was the only person Bristow would talk to when she happened to come to the office. They would go to lunch occasionally and a few times Malone had heard them on the phone together. Once he had called Weiss at home and Sydney had answered the phone. It seemed to him that there was a great deal of love between the two but there was an undertone of something he couldn't pinpoint. The conversations he had witnessed between the two always seemed to be about more than what they actually spoke. He could never tell what it was they were communicating to each other but it seemed to tighten the bond that was so obvious between the two of them. Malone realized he did not have the time to contemplate Weiss and Bristows relationship any more. He was home for one reason only, to pack for his first mission as a field agent.   
  
The alarm on his wrist chirped. Malone glanced down and realized it was after two pm, he need to get a move on, he had to be at Dulles and on a transport in just under an hour. He was off to try and gather more information on Vaughn Srs. organization. He was only trying to make some contacts of his own in the region; there would be no recon or surveillance of the actual organization on this mission.  
  
Malone had never been to Morocco and all he could think right now was "of all the gin joints in the world and she had to walk into mine". Cheesy he knew, but he did like that movie, Bogie was always so confidant and stole every scene he was in. He was the epitome of manliness, until a girl came in a ruined it all for him. 'Seems to be the way the world works' Malone thought to himself.  
  
If this mission went as expected Malone was told that he would be sent on more field missions and he was thrilled, this is what he wanted, to be on the front line, to see the action first hand, not just hear it though a comm. Malone grabbed his bag and turned out the light after he turned down his heat, he wasn't going to be there for a while so why pay the money to heat the place.  
  
Malone took one last look around and headed to the airport. His plane left in an hour. 


	5. A Time to Gain

Disclaimer- please see previous chapters for disclaimer information and add on the fact that don't own Casablanca or any of the characters in that amazing movie. If you haven't seen I highly recommend it.  
  
Authors notes- I want to send a huge thanks to those that have reviewed my story so far. It means a heck of a lot to me to know that someone is actually reading this story besides me. I am always up for constructive critism so if there is something that you don't think works please let me , of course I would love any type of feedback.   
  
I would also like to thank my sister for her awesome Betaing skills, she has really helped me get and keep this story in line and moving forward and is quick to point out when I stop making sense.  
  
There is a mistake in the previous chapter that I have corrected but if anyone noticed, the date at the beginning of chapter 3 should have been 2010 NOT 2005. I am sorry if anyone got confused.  
Chapter 4: A Time to Gain  
  
February 2010  
Marrakech Morocco  
  
The noise of the airplane engines revved in the back of Malone's mind. He was used to being on a plane so he was able to ignore the sound of the engines and the goings on in the cabin and focus on his upcoming trip. Malone had been on 4 missions to Morocco in the past month. The Agency was stepping up their surveillance in the region and his contacts in the local area had come through with vital information. It was too risky to have his informants send everything though email, and he needed to keep up their trust, so he was off to Morocco almost weekly.  
  
STG, Senior's Terrorist Goons, as Malone had taken to calling the as yet unnamed organization, had a large strong hold south of Marrakech. Malone was again on his way to the beautiful country but this time his mission was different; intel provided by one of Malone's informants advised them of a gathering of sorts at the stronghold.  
  
Malone was nervous. He was always a bit on edge when dealing with this organization but he had never had to get inside before so his nervousness was heightened. Not only that but this would also be his first time "in the field" actually making contact with an enemy of the United States. The last time the CIA tried to gather information about this organization 5 good men had died, Michael Vaughn among them. Malone did not have anywhere near the experience that Vaughn had, but he knew the risks and he was willing to take them.  
  
The plane landed and Malone made his way to customs after getting his bags. He had to make it to the hotel and check in before attempting to make contact with his informants. He caught a taxi and watched the countryside go by. He was thinking about what the last few months had brought him. Respect inside the Agency, a chance to make a difference in the world. He was excited about where he saw himself going in the Agency and this Op could really put him one step closer.  
  
When Malone arrived at his hotel he quickly showered. He always felt so dirty after being on a plane for so many hours. All the germs and recirculated air just sat on him making him feel contaminated. After his shower, he changed into comfortable close and hunkered down to read the file again.   
  
He had arrived a day ahead of the rest of the team, so as not to raise suspicions and in the next couple of days he would get more information on the upcoming gathering at STG. As Malone relaxed into the atmosphere, his mind began to wander, he had read the file so many times that he knew it back and forth and he found himself again wondering about Agent Bristow and her past. He wondered if he would ever NOT want to be part of the Agency. Her desire to leave the life he so loved perplexed him. Being an agent meant excitement, purpose, loyalty, how someone could not want that was beyond him. He had started to notice her more and more around the building in the past weeks and she had even sat in on a few meetings he had had with Weiss and other field agents. She never said anything, except for the occasional grunt and sigh. A language Weiss obviously understood as he would then correct whatever it was that Weiss said wrong or stop talking all together.   
  
Malone drifted off into a deep if troubled sleep; thoughts of the upcoming mission and curiosity about the mysterious agent whirling in his head.  
  
He awoke the following morning and immediately set out to reestablish his connections. Malone felt uneasy, as he went about the market place, as if he were being watched. He made sure to act like he was just a man touring the beautiful city, but the locals knew him now and it was becoming increasingly difficult to disappear into the crowd. He sat a local bar almost reminiscent of Ricks from Casablanca, the low lights and piano man playing in the background, a mix of locals and tourist making deals in the "secret" gambling parlor in the back of the lounge. He suddenly realized that whoever it was that he felt watching him had followed him to the bar. He casually looked around, pretending to look for the waiter. A man in the corner was staring at him. Malone had never seen him before and his gaze made him uneasy. After he finished his drink he headed back to his hotel to relax and figure out his next move. He got the feeling he had just been made, but his team was on the way and he had no way of contacting them yet. So he was forced to lay low and keep watch all night.  
  
2 hours later a knock at his door startled the young agent. Malone was unsure if he should answer the door or if he should try to make a break for it. He decided to throw caution to the wind and see if he could find out who was there, but not before getting his gun.  
  
He called out "Who is it?" in French.  
  
There was no answer, which only made him more unsettled, just as he was about to go out the window a voice came through the door and answered, "I have important information for you"  
  
"What kind of information?"  
  
"Please just open the door" The man on the other side of the door whispered in an urgent tone.  
Malone opened to the door and was surprised to see the man who had been staring at him at the bar. The man, older than Malone had originally thought, had cold eyes that showed no emotion. He was tall but not overly so, and he was dressed in the finest clothes Malone had ever seen, his light brown hair was slightly longer than was fashionable. The stranger handed Malone a piece of paper.  
  
"Give this to Jack Bristow as soon as possible, its imperative that he get it before anything else can happen" the man said in a rushed way. Malone opened the paper and saw that it held an address and 4 names. When he looked up again the man was gone.  
  
He was utterly confused as he sat staring at the names and address, 'What does it mean, who are these people?' Malone asked himself, well it would have to wait until he saw Weiss in a few hours, and he had no idea how to get in contact with Jack Bristow.   
  
Bristow was even more elusive than his daughter and quite a bit scarier. Malone found that he could not sit still, he began pacing between the main area of his hotel room and the small bathroom. The mention of Jack Bristow had thrown him for a loop and the fact that someone here in Marrakech was apparently on the inside, set his whole plans on their side. 'Why didn't he know that someone was already here?' he ran his fingers through his forever messy hair and waited for contact to be made by Weiss. At 6pm he got a phone call.  
"I am calling to confirm your room service order"  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't order room service." Malone answered, hanging p the phone he left his room and headed to the meeting point, another room, two floors up. In the room were a number of agents, including Weiss and Sydney Bristow. Immediately Malone filled the agents in the room in on his earlier visitor.  
  
"What did this guy look like?"  
  
"I don't know, tall but not too tall, brown hair, light eyes, blue or green, cold though, no emotion, wearing Armani"   
  
"Well where's the paper he gave you?"  
  
Malone gave Weiss the sheet of paper. He looked it over for a few minutes and then handed it off to Sydney. Her face fell for a minute then looked questioningly at Weiss.  
  
"What do you think this means?"  
  
Weiss answered "I don't know, we assumed they were dead, but maybe..."  
  
"Who are they?" Malone asked the two agents. They stopped looking at each other and turned their gaze to him.  
  
"These men, on this list, are CIA agents. In fact these are the men that were with Agent Vaughn when he was killed. We assumed they were dead when they failed to make their rendezvous point and since they have not been heard from in over 5 years, well..." Weiss answered.  
  
"Weiss, do you think...?"Sydney asked with what sounded like hope in her voice.  
  
"Syd, no. You were there. You know..."  
  
"Eric, maybe, maybe, could it not be possible, I mean come on, if they survived maybe..."  
  
"Syd listen to yourself, there is no way, he's gone, he was shot and killed. You heard it yourself, quit beating yourself up over it."  
  
"Weiss think about it!!!!" Sydney was starting to sound frantic.  
  
"NO" Weiss yelled at her "stop it, stop it now" Sydney's face fell at that moment and Malone could almost feel her pain.  
  
"Are you talking about Agent Vaughn, do you think he could still be alive after all these years?" Everything in the room stopped for a moment before going to back to it's earlier hectic pace. Malone got the impression that he had just voiced something that had never been spoken aloud before, at least that bluntly. Sydney hung her head and walked to the other side of the room. Weiss looked at Malone and shook his head in the negative and then walked over to Agent Bristow and pulled her into a hug. She was crying and Weiss was trying to console her to no avail. Malone felt like a heel watching the two of them but he could not tear his eyes away. Malone felt the need disrupt the two of them to get his mission back on track, but he knew the information passed to him earlier that day still needed to be discussed and Jack Bristow still needed to be contacted.  
  
"Hey guys, I hate to interrupt here but is there a way to contact Jack Bristow?" He asked trying to move along the conversation and figure out what it all meant. Weiss and Sydney looked at him and Sydney shook her head.   
  
"I don't know where my father is right now. He hasn't been with the Agency on a full time basis for years. Weiss can Kendall track him down?"  
  
"That wont be needed." A strange voice came from the front of the room. Jack Bristow stood there looking at the two agents in front of him.  
  
"Dad? Where have you been?" Sydney walked over to her dad and gave him an awkward hug.  
  
"Hi sweetheart. Where I have been is not important, what is important is the note that was handed off to Malone this morning" Jack held out his hand, waiting for someone to give him the note.  
  
Malone was stunned that Jack Bristow knew his name but he hid his pleasure and consternation and just handed the senior agent the piece of paper that he received that morning. Jack Bristow looked over the paper and a small smile lit up his face. "Tell me exactly what the man said"  
  
Malone repeated the exact words back to Jack and waited for someone to explain to him what it meant.  
  
The senior Bristow just shook his head and turned back to Weiss, "Agent Weiss we need to send in a team to this address to extract these men."  
  
"What do you mean extract these men?"  
  
"Now is not the time for questions Agent Weiss, just do as I say." Jack snapped at Weiss.  
  
Weiss looked like he was about to argue but Sydney put her hand on his arm and he stopped, he then turned to the other agents and started barking orders to get an extraction team together.  
  
"Malone go back to your room and get ready for tomorrow night, you are going in as a waiter. You will wait for a contact from the inside. When you get the signal let us know and a team will enter the compound and take Vaughn senior into custody as well as his cohorts." Jack Bristow addressed Malone.  
  
"Wait, there's someone on the inside? Why wasn't I told about this?" Weiss demanded.  
  
"Because you didn't need to know" Jack answered  
  
"What do you mean I didn't need to know? I am in charge of this operation, not you Jack, hell you're not even with the Agency anymore. You have no say in what goes on here. We are not prepared to take them down today."  
  
"Yes we are, and what I have been doing is of no concern to you, finishing this op is. Do as I say, a team is in place, the information Malone got today was confirmation, the Agency has the information needed now to take this man and his organization down. Malone go. A uniform is in your room as well as glasses that have a small camera in them so we can see what's going on."  
  
Malone did not want to leave, what was unfolding in the room was much more interesting than what ever awaited him in his room, but from the tone of Jack Bristows voice there was no room for argument. Malone took one last look around the room and saw Sydney Bristow looking scared and defeated in the corner and Weiss stealing glances at Jack Bristow while trying to get the teams in place and organized. Jack Bristow just stood in the middle room watching everything that was going on around him.   
  
Malone headed back to his room in a state of confusion. 'Where the hell had Jack been all these years, and was everyone ready to just jump in and follow him like lambs to a slaughter?' From what he knew the man had been married to one of the most evil women in the world and never even knew it, he had been a leading Agent in the development of a diabolical plan to test children for service in the Agency, and Malone just did not trust him. The way Weiss had deferred to him without much of fight had left Malone feeling alone in his discomfiture.  
The next day Malone prepared for his mission. He arrived at the compound with the rest of the catering staff and got to work preparing the food. He had an earpiece in and was just waiting for Weiss to make contact. He had no idea what had happened with the 4 men but he assumed that since the mission was still a go that the extraction team had found the address and was successful. He was curious as to the condition of the men but realized that he needed to keep his mind clear and get back to work.  
  
The party had started and the main hall was full of people. Malone walked around with a tray of hors d'ourves and kept his ears open waiting for some small piece of information to float his way. 2 hours into the party Malone noticed a man in the corner watching him. Upon closer inspection he realized it was the same man that passed him the note the day before.  
  
"Base this is Swinger, I see the man who passed the note to me yesterday, is this my contact?"  
  
Malone heard Jack Bristow over his comm link. "It is, go about your business he will make contact when the time is right."  
  
He knew that once contact had been made that he and the Agent on the inside would leave the building and the raid would begin. He did not have to wait long. At 10: 30 the man who had made contact with him yesterday approached Malone from behind.   
  
"Are those canapés?" the man asked. This was the sign he had waited been waiting for. Malone turned around and heard the unmistakable gasp of Sydney Bristow in his ear.  
  
"Vaughn!" 


	6. A Time to Live

Disclaimer in previous chapters.  
  
Authors Notes- I want to thank all of those that reviewed my story. You are all awesome and I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know that you liked my story. It means a lot to me. I have noticed a few things still wrong in previous chapters so those will be corrected soon, including the title of the last chapter. I must have been confused when I posted it.  
  
Thanks again to those of you still reading this story I hope you like this next installment.  
Chapter 5- A Time to Live  
Michael Vaughn and Agent Malone entered the base ops room to applause and cheers. Vaughn took no notice of those around him and headed straight for Jack Bristow.  
  
"Jack"  
  
"Agent Vaughn. Glad to see you well." Jack Bristow had a large smile on his face. "I think there are a few people here you need to talk to."  
  
Vaughn turned and happiness seemed to flush across his face when he saw Weiss standing in the room.  
  
"Weiss" he said sounding a bit unsure of the reception he was about to receive. His consternation would not last long as Weiss enveloped him in a long and very tight bear hug.  
  
"You, my friend, have so much explaining to do, it's going to take at least 3 beers to get through it all."  
  
"Yeah, more like a whole six pack. Its good to see you, good to be back." Vaughn answered. Malone noticed that Sydney Bristow had stayed back in the corner, almost like she was trying to hide herself from the man who had come back from the dead. Malone was curious as to her reaction, seeing as how her voice over his comm link was full of joy and hope, and this woman hiding in the corner caught him by surprise.  
  
Malone focus was directed back to the two reunited friends when he heard an overly loud laugh.  
  
"Oh there is no way in hell you could drink me under the table, you have always been a lightweight." Weiss jokingly said to Vaughn. Malone noticed Weiss was not quiet making eye contact with Agent Vaughn, almost as if he was uncomfortable. It was understandable considering that Vaughn had been thought dead for the last 5 years  
  
"Me, the lightweight, allow me to remind you of the time I had to carry you out of bar instead of allowing you to make the biggest the mistake of your life with a woman who was easily twice your size and definitely twice as ugly as you!!!" The two friends laughed together for a few seconds and the room again grew quiet. "How is she?" Vaughn asked Weiss in soft apprehensive voice. Weiss didn't answer just jerked his head to the left. Vaughn turned slowly and looked in the direction Weiss had indicated. Malone sat and stared and the scene unfolding before him. Vaughn just stood there as if in a trance and looked at the woman in the corner.  
  
"Syd" his voice sounded strangled, he could barely get her name out. Malone watched as Sydney's face went through an array of emotions, joy, fear, apprehension and finally anger. She was pissed and it was easy to tell, even to Malone, who barely knew her. Sydney walked slowly up to Vaughn and stared into his eyes for what seemed like an hour but was probably only 2 minutes. At last she grabbed him to her and embraced him. He immediately hugged her back and everyone could see the tears in his eyes. Then suddenly she stepped back and slapped him, hard. He did nothing to stop her as she struck him again. Finally she turned and walked out the door. Vaughn did not make a move to go after her; he just turned back to Weiss. Malone saw Weiss stare at the door Sydney left through as if unsure what to do at this point. He assumed that Weiss' desire to talk to his long lost friend won out when the AD turned back to Vaughn and began speaking.  
  
"So man, what's the deal, where the hell have you been?" Weiss asked, as if Vaughn getting slapped by another agent was a regular occurrence.  
  
Vaughn launched into the story of his capture by his father. "He shot me but it must have missed all my vitals, I still don't know how I survived but I did. My father called in a doctor when he realized I wasn't going to die and they treated me. Once I was stronger they placed me in what can only be described as a cell. The agents that were with me with on the mission were in the other cells around me. We were able to talk to each other to keep sane." He continued on, " The food was awful but it got us through, we talked about home, wives, kids, girlfriends, anything and everything to keep the hope alive that one day we would get of there. Then one day, one of my father's goons came down and pulled me out of my cell. I had not seen my father since that first day but his men took me to a room and left me. There I found shampoo and basic toiletries. It was nicer in amenities but I had noone to talk to. They left me food through a hole in the door, like a mail slot." Vaughn hesitated for a moment "I started to go crazy; I had noone to talk to. I started talking to myself and then I started talking to imaginary people, to you to Syd. I knew they weren't real but it's all I had. I felt so alone, all the time; it was a form of sensory deprivation I guess. I started make tools to cut myself, just to feel something. The objects in my room stared talking back to me; I got quite close with a lamp. We're going to keep in touch" Vaughn said the last sentence jokingly, trying to ease the tension in the room. He ran his hands through his hair in what seemed to be an impatient but calming gesturing. Malone was sure that this must be difficult to talk about but Vaughn seemed to be handling it well. Occasionally he would glance nervously around the room but besides that he seemed at ease, which surprised Malone.  
  
"You always were the weird one in the Company, but I am glad you made such good friends, does that lamp have a bed stand I could call, it's so lonely at the top." Weiss joked  
  
"I would hate to see you after that, noone to listen to your horrible jokes, you'd be stark raving mad after a day." Vaughn joked, "Anyway, I don't know how long I was there by myself but one day my father came into the room, I was so happy to talk to someone other than myself, but he only stayed for a few minutes and when he left I craved more contact. I guess that was the point. I never even thought to ask why he was alive I just wanted to connect with someone, anyone. After that, he would come by and we would talk about, well nothing really, just talk. Then one day he invited me to dinner in the main dining room. I never even thought to look around I was just starved for human interaction." Vaughn seemed almost embarrassed. "I never realized how important human contact was, until it was gone. I found myself thinking all day about what I wanted to say, what could I say to get more company. My father slowly let me have more and more time out of the room. And I was so grateful that I did anything he asked of me. I had no idea how long I had been gone or what year it was, nothing was the same. It was then that I started getting angry, I mean where the hell was everyone. Did they not even think to try and recover my body? It pissed me off."  
  
"Vaughn, we thought you were dead, the Agency didn't want to lose any more people"  
  
"Thanks man, glad to know my life and those that were with me meant nothing after all the times I risked it all for someone else!" Vaughn was getting agitated.  
  
"Vaughn." The voice of Jack Bristow broke through the tension in the room.  
  
"Sorry, so as I was saying. I got angry"  
  
"Got? It sounds like you are still" Weiss sounded offended and bit guilty to Malone ears. Leaving your friend for dead was never easy and it seemed as if Weiss was now realizing what that decision had meant for his best friend.  
  
"Anyway, I started trying to figure out a way to escape and disappear. I didn't even care about bringing my father to justice anymore I just wanted out. I figured since noone cared about me why the hell should I care about seeing them again. One day my father said we could go into Marrakech. I figured that was my chance. We were in the city when I spotted someone. I was shocked, they hadn't forgotten me after all." "Jack" Weiss said, not really a question but a statement, he knew Jack Bristow was the only person in the Agency that would have the balls to go against orders for years at a time.  
  
"The Agency had forbidden any agent to go looking for the lost team and I knew how important it was to give everyone back home some peace. So I went a couple times a year, just to see if I could pick up on any word. Vaughn had been gone for 3 years at this point but I started hearing from my informants that a new man had joined the "bosses" group. I waited in Marrakech for a few weeks when I saw Vaughn in the town market." Jack Bristow finally joined the conversation.  
  
"I was so excited when I saw him and it took everything I had to ignore him. I snapped out of my funk, realizing that I could still make a difference, I felt finally that someone did care about me and had been trying to find me." He gave a small smile "you can never understand how it felt to be myself again." He stopped for a few moments and collected his thoughts. "Jack passed by me and dropped a pad of paper in my pocket with a piece of lead to write with and disappeared. On the pad was a code phrase. I started writing down things I heard around the compound. My father started giving me more and more freedom and finally I had hope again. The next time we went into town a man approached me with the code phrase and I made my first drop."  
  
"Why didn't the CIA know about this?" Malone asked. He couldn't believe that the CIA would allow one of its own to stay in that situation.  
  
"The Agency could not be told. I had to find out as much information as I could from Vaughn before going to them with what I had. They considered him a lost man; his star was already on the wall. To them he was dead and it had to stay like that." Jack answered.  
  
"The drops went on until just recently. I found out that the men I came with were still alive and I knew they had to be saved, I let Jack know what I had discovered and we decided that once we were able to free the men the Agency could move in. I had gathered enough information on my father's organization to bring them down and Jack confirmed it." At this point Vaughn stopped and took a sip of his drink. "I started noticing someone in town, someone so inconspicuous that he was obvious and I knew that the CIA had finally caught up with what Jack and I had been doing for years. That man was you Malone."  
  
Malone was stunned, he thought his nondescript appearance was an asset but apparently those in the know knew what to look for. It jarred him to the bone.  
  
"I never allowed you to see me, I had no idea what the CIA was planning. When I made my final contact with Jack I let him let know that I had seen you here and also about the party that was planned. I knew Jack would leak that information to Weiss, as he had done with the disk you recently recovered, without anyone being the wiser. And well that brings us to know, and here I am."  
  
"Well its good to have you back man. There's a lot to say." Weiss said with a big smile on his face.  
  
Vaughn smiled sadly and looked at the door where Sydney had left 1/2 hour before.  
  
"I know things have changed. I couldn't expect anything less. I've had a lot of time to think about everything. I don't have anything to apologize for and I hope she's not expecting that." He looked at Weiss for confirmation, at Weiss' shrug he continued on "I will try and talk to her, but you know what, I don't know if I have the energy its going to take to reason with her right now. Truthfully all I want to do is sleep, let tomorrow take care of itself." Vaughn was quiet for a moment; his shoulders dropped and seemed to have to make an effort to finish his thought "To be honest I don't even know if what I am looking for is forgiveness from her, I don't think I did anything that needs forgiving." At that Vaughn moved to another chair and put on some headphones and listened to raid of his father's organization. The conversation was obviously over from Vaughn's point of view. Malone watched Weiss for a moment and noticed that he seemed to be trying to figure out what to say, or if he should say anything at all. Malone knew that Sydney and Weiss were close and he was sure that his boss/mentor was having a difficult time deciding whose side to be on in this melodrama.  
  
Malone turned to Jack Bristow and asked the one question that had not been answered, "Why did you keep looking for Agent Vaughn even when the Agency said to leave it be?"  
  
Jack turned to Malone and thought about his answer for a minute, "Because Malone, I love my daughter and she loves Vaughn." 


	7. A Time You May Embrace

Disclaimer- please see previous chapters for disclaimer information and add on the fact that don't own Casablanca or any of the characters in that amazing movie. If you haven't seen I highly recommend it.  
  
Authors notes- I want to send a huge thanks to those that have reviewed my story so far. It means a heck of a lot to me to know that someone is actually reading this story besides me. I am always up for constructive critism so if there is something that you don't think works please let me know, of course I would love any type of feedback.   
  
I would also like to thank my sister for her awesome Betaing skills, she has really helped me get and keep this story in line and moving forward and is quick to point out when I stop making sense.  
Chapter 6 : A Time You May Embrace  
It was still early in the morning when Malone arrived at the airport terminal and spotted a small collection of his team. Malone had slept very little the night before thanks to an over active brain and too many unanswered questions he hadn't dared to ask. He was still confused about what happened and how all these puzzle pieces fit together. He walked up to his team which seemed to be missing Jack Bristow, and the other Base Agents. He assumed they were escorting Vaughns father back to the States via a chartered plane. Looking around he saw Sydney sitting alone reading a book. Well more like staring at a book, she had not turned a page in a few minutes. She was sitting about 20 feet from Weiss and Vaughn who were having an animated conversation about the state of the LA Kings.  
  
Malone noticed that Sydney was listening to their conversation. When they laughed or got rowdy she would smile just slightly, when Vaughn found out his dog had died the previous year, she looked sad. He wondered why she didn't join in on the conversation but knew it was not his place to ask questions. He watched, as Vaughn would crack a joke and shift his head just slightly to see if Sydney had laughed, when she had, his smile grew. 'But why didn't he talk to her?' Malone wondered to himself. Finally the flight was called and everyone started to board the plane. He looked at his ticket and proceeded to 22F. He sat down after stowing away his luggage and Weiss did the same. They started talking about everyday issues and mutually complaining about all the paperwork that awaited them in LA.  
  
"Weiss do you mind if we switch seats?" Malone turned and saw Sydney looking at Weiss with a questioning look.  
  
"Why?" he asked back.  
  
Sydney just glared at him and said in an even but obviously put out tone, " Because I prefer the view from here."  
  
Weiss turned and saw that Sydney had been seated next to Vaughn and got out of his seat. "You can't put off talking to him forever Syd."  
  
"I can at least put it off for a few hours though." Sydney sat down in Weiss' vacated seat and opened the book she had been reading, never sparing a glance in Malone's direction. Weiss stood there looking at her until the flight attendant came by and asked him to take his seat. Malone watched as he left and saw a look of pained resignation on Vaughns face.  
  
2 hours into the flight Sydney started to cry. It was dignified crying, not the bawling and histrionics you often see when girls are upset, just tears rolling down her face and the occasional hiccup. Malone had no idea what to do. This woman could easily snap his neck if she so desired and no one would notice until the end of the flight, but he couldn't let he just sit there and cry. Normally when girls cried he left the room, but there was no place to hide so he did the only other thing he could think of. He got out a handkerchief and wordlessly handed it her. She took it and muttered thanks through her tears. Malone went back to his magazine and tried to tune out the obviously upset woman next to him. She stopped crying and he again turned to her as she handed back his hanky. He waited to see if she wanted to talk but she just sat stoically staring straight a head so he went back to his article.  
  
"I didn't think it would hurt this much." He heard her say softly. He didn't think this required a response so he put down his magazine and turned to her, and waited till she qualified the statement. "Him coming back. I mean I should be happy, and I am, but I feel so betrayed. I don't have a right to feel betrayed and the fact that I do makes me feel even worse. I should only be happy but I'm not"  
"You can't control what you feel, there is not "right" way to feel, there just is" he tried to console her. She turned to him and gave a small smile.  
  
Sydney looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. Malone knew he was taking a chance with what he was about to say but he did not get where he was by being cautious.  
  
"If you need a sounding board I'm here, I'm a good listener and I know how to keep a secret. People are always telling me I should be a spy, oh wait I am a spy." He tried to ease her tension with a joke. It seemed to work; she gave a little chuckle and then went silent for a few minutes, he assumed to gather her thoughts.  
  
"I've always been a spy, since I was 7. My father put me through rigorous spy training then covered up the memories with hypnosis" Malone was stunned but sat there waiting to hear more. "I never knew it, I always wanted to be a teacher, like my mom. I got recruited into the CIA while in college and I loved it. I loved the fact that I was doing good, helping to bring the bad guys down, being my own woman and being a woman of power. It was exhilarating. I got engaged to a wonderful man, he was a med student and I was madly in love." Malone watched a small wistful smile grace her face "I hated keeping secrets from Danny so one day I told him what I did. The CIA found out and had him killed. I found him dead in the bathtub. At the time it was the lowest point in my life but because of it I found out that I was not working for the CIA but for a rogue agency named SD-6. I wanted revenge; I wanted them to pay for Danny's death; so one day I walked into Agency headquarters and told them everything I knew. The man I talked to was Agent Vaughn."  
  
Ah, so that's how they he had figured it was on an Op seeing as how they were both Field agents. Sydney went on to explain that Vaughn became her handler with the Agency. Malone was surprised; Vaughn did not seem the desk job type. Sydney told of their adventures, breaking into the Vatican, getting her to Mt Sebacio, Vaughn almost dying at the hands of her mother and her goons, his illness as a result and her resulting deal with Sark. The story was detailed and long, but Malone was enthralled. The life these two had led as "partners" was incredible. In every adventure, Vaughn played a significant role, in every story she told of how he helped her, supported her, became her everything. Malone wondered why Vaughn had been allowed to stay on as her handler seeing as how it must have been obvious that they had feelings for each other. He asked Sydney how that played out within the Agency.  
  
She laughed for a minute before answering, "Oh trust me they tried, they threatened, they even had us both in therapy. But they wouldn't dare to replace Vaughn as my handler. We worked to well together, we were a well oiled machine, I trusted him, and only him, completely, I would not work with someone else and they knew it, so unless one of us asked to be transferred or reassigned we got to stay together."  
  
"How did that work, I cant imagine being able to concentrate on a mission when the person I care about the most is off trying very hard not to get killed?" Malone interjected. Sydney gave him a piercing look and Malone quickly added what he was really thinking, "It just seems stupid to get involved like that, especially when so much rides on your professionalism." Malone was afraid that she would be offended by the tone he took.   
  
Sydney eyed him for a long moment and then answered. "Have you ever been in love Mr. Malone?" when he shook his head in the negative she went on, "then don't you dare presume to tell me how to do my job and do it well. Or what I should and should not be allowed to feel to get that job done. It was my love for someone that got them killed and it was my love for another that kept me alive. On all the missions I went on, of all the close calls, the one thing I held onto was the fact that I needed to get back and see Vaughn. We never dated while I was with SD-6; we were professional, all the time. But I knew that the faster we brought down SD-6 and the Alliance, the faster we could be together." She took a deep breath and sip of water, "You see my desire for vengeance had waned, my purpose had changed. I was no longer fighting against something, I was fighting FOR something and that made our relationship so strong. " She was still angry with him for his earlier tone but calmed down a bit after her outburst. She shifted in her seat, and for a moment he thought she wouldn't finish her story.  
  
"In the weeks that preceded the take down of the Alliance, Vaughns and my relationship had taken a turn. We were no longer hiding our feeling for each other, but we knew we had to wait, too much was riding on what we were doing. The second SD-6 came down we were together. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts; it was what was meant to be. I had done it; I had gotten justice for Danny and had fallen in love again. I thought everything was perfect. A little over a year went by, Vaughn proposed and we started planning our wedding," Malone looked down and saw that Sydney was wearing an engagement ring, "one day he came to me and shared some intel that had been given to him. He had suspicions that his father may well be alive and he wanted to go and find out. I panicked, he couldn't leave, we had just started our lives together, and things were going good. He had never been a true field agent and I told him it would be too dangerous. He wouldn't listen to me, we just kept fighting and finally I told him that if he left we were through." She was crying again and Malone gave her a moment to pull herself together.  
  
"Why? He had supported you through everything, why could you not support him in his?"  
  
"Because I was pregnant and I didn't want the father of my baby dying for the CIA because he was chasing a ghost."  
  
Malone was stunned, no one had ever mentioned that Sydney had a child, he had not heard Vaughn even ask about the child. "Does Agent Vaughn know?"  
  
"No, I never told him, I had just found out the day he told me about the mission. I guess I was being selfish. I wanted him to come home from the Op and then tell him, to make him feel bad for leaving me. I don't know why, but I wanted to hurt him, the way felt he was hurting us. I never thought he wouldn't come home at all. God I was so stupid. I am so sorry," at this point she broke down into full-blown crying and a few seconds later Malone felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Weiss standing next to him and got up. Weiss took his seat and proceeded to pull Sydney into a hug. She clung to him like her life depended on it. Malone stood there for a moment debating on whether or not he should say what on his mind, in the end he decided that he could get away quickly if she got angry.  
"You know Sydney, I don't know you very well, I know Agent Vaughn even less, but I can say that you need to let this go. It's been 5 years. I understand that you still feel guilty for what happened and you are obviously still angry with Agent Vaughn but I think you are angrier with yourself. What you are not doing is looking at this objectively. You were pregnant and hormonal. I mean, you did not really have the best parental role models in the world, it's a given that you would be freaked out. It's understandable that you would feel like your world was falling apart. I can't condone what you did, not telling Agent Vaughn about the baby. You took away any choice he may have had. He left thinking that after all the support he gave you, you could not reciprocate. But it's not fair to either of you to stay mad at him for leaving. You forced his hand with your omission, but you can't stay mad at yourself. Its time to let the past be the past. You guys finally have the chance to make this right, but not if you cant let go." Malone finished his speech and turned to the seat that Weiss had vacated next to Agent Vaughn. He sat down wondering if he had overstepped his bounds in talking to Sydney that way but figured it was far to late to worry about it.  
He was not interested in talking to Vaughn at that moment so he put on his headphones and tried to get some sleep. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over at the haggard agent next to him.  
  
"Is she okay?" Vaughn asked. He looked worried and exhausted.  
  
"No she's not. I don't know her well, but I do know you two have a lot to work out and I don't want any part of it." Malone put his earphones back on and tried to sleep but he heard Vaughn say softly "I'm not sure if I even want a part of it." The two did not speak for the rest of the trip home and Malone was glad. He had learned more about this group of people than any sane person should be subjected to. He was uncomfortable with the information hat Sydney had given him regarding hers and Vaughns child and he did not want to let anything slip. He feigned sleep and thankfully Vaughn left him alone.  
  
When the plane landed he found Weiss and made sure that it was okay for him to go home. He never thought that he would want to be away from the Agency but right now all he wanted was to be at home, in his apartment, relaxing without the drama that this mission had brought.  
  
"I'm going to head home if that's all right." He said after finding Weiss in front of the luggage carousel.  
  
"Yeah man that's fine. Good work by the way. You are well on your way."  
  
Malone felt himself grow warm with the unexpected praise from his mentor.  
  
"Thanks. So I'm just going to....." he started heading away from the group. He purposely did not look back, hoping to just forget about the two agents that were currently occupying his mind. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with that. He had almost made it to the door and outside to the always-waiting cabs when he heard his name being called.  
  
"Malone!" He debated whether or not to pretend he hadn't heard Sydney calling him but manners drilled into him by his mom forced him to turn and face her.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry for losing it on the plane, but I want to thank you for listening. You gave me a lot to think about." He gave a slight smile in acceptance of her thanks and again turned to leave.  
  
"What I said, about my son...." She hesitated but Malone knew what she was asking.  
  
"I won't say anything to Agent Vaughn, it's not my place. But you need to tell him, don't wait, he deserves to know." She nodded her head in the affirmative and then turned back to where Weiss was still waiting for his bags. Once he saw that their conversation was over he made a quick exit and headed home. 


	8. A Time to be Born

Disclaimer- please see previous chapters for disclaimer information and add on the fact that don't own Casablanca or any of the characters in that amazing movie. If you haven't seen I highly recommend it.  
  
Authors notes- I want to send a huge thanks to those that reviewed my last chapter- Your support means a great deal to me. I am always up for constructive critism so if there is something that you don't think works please let me, of course I would love any type of feedback. I am sorry for the delay in the update. Hopefully this chapter will be worth it.  
  
I would also like to thank my sister for her awesome Betaing skills, she has really helped me get and keep this story in line and moving forward and is quick to point out when I stop making sense.  
Chapter 7 : A Time to be Born CIA Headquarters Langley, Va April 2010  
  
The paperwork was still being finished. Ceremonies and meetings to review the gathered information were a constant distraction. Malone got the feeling that he would be in meetings for the rest of his natural born life. He had gotten two awards for his work on the case and had been told that he was "on his way" whatever the hell that meant. Two people had been noticeably absent from the onslaught of meetings, Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn. Malone remembered what Weiss had said when he had asked after them,  
  
Malone only asked Weiss once where they were. Sydney not being there made sense, she was not an official part of the take down. The reason behind Vaughn's absences made little sense to Malone. Why would a man fly off to France, even to see his mother, when he had a son here he had never met? He had nagging suspicion that Sydney had yet to tell Vaughn the whole truth.  
  
Watching and listening to his mentor during their meetings, it was obvious to him the degree of loyalty the man felt to both Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn. Malone didn't know what was so special about the two that inspired loyalty to all those involved with them, but it humbled him nonetheless. His musings were interrupted when he caught a glance at a familiar figure walked down the hall.  
  
"Weiss my man, I am back and ready to get going." Vaughn hollered, "when's my next mission!!!?!!" Malone couldn't get a clean view of the man from behind his desk, but Vaughn's voice sounded jovial.  
  
"Your next mission my friend is to sit your skinny butt in a chair and fill out the mountains of paperwork that you stuck me with that I am now re- sticking you with."  
  
"Aw come on man, look I could still be dead and then you would have to do it by yourself."  
  
"If you were still dead Mike I would only have half this paperwork and I could handle it by myself". The two friends laughed. How they could joke about death like that amazed him, but Malone had learned long ago that people handled all situations differently. Weiss led Vaughn back towards Malones office to finish the paperwork. Being right next door afforded Malone the chance to hear what they were saying to each, and the large window separating the office allowed him to sneak peaks and the bantering friends. "Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch, they are giving you 11 years of back pay."  
  
"Yup I even get all the vacation time they owe me, I think I have like 8 months lined up by now."  
  
"Well then you better finish that paperwork man- you are going no where until you can see the desk."  
  
"Hell, by then I will have gotten another month added on."  
  
Weiss laughed and left Vaughns makeshift office and headed back to his own. Malone just kept plugging away at his reports and before he knew it lunch had passed right by. He heard voices in the office next door and looked up to see who was visiting with Vaughn. He was surprised to see Sydney standing there. She looked different, she had put on weight, not much, but she looked healthier now. He had to admit she was one hell of a good- looking woman. He could barely make out what was said but the conversation seemed to be okay so far, he certainly was not up for being exposed to another fight or more theatrics.  
  
"How are you doing? Weiss told me you went to see your mom. How is she doing?" Basic questions but they broke the ice Malone thought.  
  
"She's doing well, shocked as hell to see me, and once she stopped crying she yelled at me for at least a day and a half." Vaughn had said this with a half joking tone, which led him to believe that it was most likely true. "My sister had gotten married while I was gone, so I got to meet her husband and their daughter."  
  
"I know. I was there," Sydney said so softly Malone could barely here her. "Yeah, my mom told me."  
  
"I called you. But you never called me back." She sounded put out to Malone. He tried to get back to his work but found himself just staring at the papers on his desk waiting for Vaughns response. But it never came. He cast quick glance at the window between the two offices to see what Vaughn was doing. Malone saw him just staring at Sydney. They both looked like they were waiting for the other to break.  
  
"What's happened to us? Besides the obvious. We never had a problem talking before." She paused for a moment, "I want us back, Vaughn"  
  
He gave a throaty chuckle, never breaking eye contact with her. "What happened Syd? You should know better than I. All I ever wanted was you." Malone watched as Vaughn leaned back in his chair. From his view it looked as if he was perfectly comfortable in the conversation. Maybe he figured stuff out when he was France, Malone thought to himself.  
  
"I learned that we wanted different things. You taught me that."  
  
"How? I wanted us to have a life, a family apart from the CIA. Isn't that what you wanted?" Sydney sounded genuinly confused by Vaughn's last statement.  
  
"Yes Syd, that's what I wanted. But more than that I wanted you to support me and you didn't"  
  
Malone grew uncomfortable listening in on the conversation. He knew it was about to get very personal, but he was worried leaving his office would be too conspicuous. He did not get a chance to move before he heard Syd speak up again.  
  
"I did support you. But we had just started our life and you wanted to go off on another mission. I was scared."  
  
"But it wasn't just another mission, Syd. I had intel on my father. You of all people should know what it feels like to find out the parent you thought was dead, was, in fact, still alive."  
  
"Yeah and look what my quest for my mother got me. A lot of heartache."  
  
Malone perked up at the mention of Irina Derevko, the infamous spy that was Sydney's mother.  
  
"But I always supported you, even if I did not agree with what you were doing. I always supported you. Why could you not do that for me, just one time." His voiced had reached the level of near yelling and Malone could tell that he was losing his composure.  
  
"That's not fair Vaughn and you damn well know it!!" Sydney practically yelled at him. "I would have done anything for you, I have never felt the way I feel when I am with you. I was focused on my life, because for the first time I was getting to live it. You were not brought up to be spy, Michael. You had choices in your life. I had none, all my choices were made for me. I needed the chance to make the decision for myself, to be ME for once, not Superagent Bristow!" Her voice was raised and starting to crack. Malone got the feeling this meeting was not going how she had planned.  
  
Vaughn hollered back. "I loved you Syd, from the start, with your bright pink hair and the fire in your eyes. All I ever wanted was to be with you, in any way you could give me. For a while it was as friends and then I moved to something more, but it never seemed like you did. You were so damn stuck on proving that you could be normal you forgot to live, Syd. You forgot to share yourself with me. I was never allowed to be a part of your life, only your plans and hell, I never had a say on half of those either. But I didn't care, because I was with you and that's all that mattered." Vaughn took a long breath as he gathered his thoughts. "Until I needed you to be there for me, to support me and you wouldn't. I realized then that what we had was an illusion. I got to close and it disappeared."  
  
"Vaughn no, what we have is the most real thing I have ever had. It's the only thing in my life that is not based on half-truths and lies. You are the only thing that mattered. I wanted to prove to you that I was worth the wait. That I could be normal andthat we could be together. But I was scared to let you leave. I had already lost one fiancée; I couldn't bear to lose you too."  
  
"Damnit Syd! It wasn't about you. It was about me for once and you couldn't see that. I am not Danny and I am damn sick of the guilty feeling I got whenever something remotely bad happened, like I had let you down by stubbing my toe or something. I can't live in his shadow or under your cloak of paranoia. Why couldn't you just give me the support I needed? Why Syd? Was I not important to you, were my needs not important enough for you? Our whole relationship was built on your needs and how you could achieve them. God damnit Syd, why couldn't you give me the one thing I wanted? I just wanted to be treated as an equal, to get your support like I had so often given you mine. WHY?" by this time Vaughn was yelling and Malone was decidedly uncomfortable. He felt that if he left his office now it would be way to noticeable so he stayed put and just tried to wait it out.  
  
"It had nothing to do with not supporting you, Michael. I was scared of what may happen if you were caught and loom at what happened, my fears were right. But it wasn't because I was scared of losing you for myself, but I was scared of losing you for our son." Syd said the last part in a low voice, but it was tinged with anger and Malone had to struggle to make out the words. He looked at Vaughn's reaction and he had to give him credit, he masked it well. If it were not for the clenched fists he would not be able to tell how he felt about that admission.  
  
"Son?" His voice was strangled. Malone couldn't tell if he was angry, but after an admission like that, he could only assume that was the case. Vaughn's head was down and he seemed to be trying to compose himself.  
  
"Patrick, Patrick Vaughn, he's 5 now. Looks just like you, right down to the eyes and crooked smile." She was calm when describing her son to his father, but he could hear the pride in her voice.  
  
"Son?" this time Vaughn seemed to be getting angry. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I was mad. I had planned on telling you, then we got into the fight and I said those horrible things to you. But you never came home, Vaughn and I had to live with the fact that you were gone, never knowing about him and that's my fault. I've lived with that guilt for 6 years."  
  
"I don't know what you are expecting from me here. How could you keep this from me? How could you think it would not have made a differnece in my decision?"  
  
Sydney spoke quietly but with a resolve that Malone had not heard from her before. "I know. I would have known that then but I wasn't thinking clearly. I can't ever make that up to you. But when you are ready, I would love for you to be a part of his life." She crossed over to his desk and laid down something on his desk. She then gave him one last glance and walked out of his office. 


	9. Authors note

Just wanted to drop everyone a note and let them know that the story will be updated soon. I apologize for the delay, but real life has been insane. The next chapter should be up by the end of the weekend. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it really does mean a lot to me. 


	10. A Time for Peace

Disclaimer- yet another thing I don't own  
  
Authors notes- I want to go ahead and acknowledge some of my wonderful reviewers. Their kind words keep me going. Even if I have not thanked you individually please know that I am reading and loving all the reviews. I hope that everyone is still enjoying the story. I do want to put just a couple of reviewers on the spot, their kind words and insight have really helped, so without further ado  
  
A very special thanks go out to Sara, JB, Star, Sprite, Rachel, Syd GillyKC, Secret Agent Girl, and Kimmers for their sticking with the story and encouragement along the way. Aslo thanks to all those that had such kind words of encouragement when you saw the last update was only a measly authors note.  
  
I am sorry this took so long to get out, you all know how real life can be, but we only got a few more chapters to go and they should be up fairly quickly.  
Chapter 8: A Time for Peace CIA Headquarters Langley Va  
  
Malone felt it was okay to leave his office now. Sydney had pulled herself together and laid something on Vaughn's desk and then walked out. He was a bit perturbed to have been witness, of sorts, to the conversation Agents Vaughn and Bristow had. He knew Sydney's side of the story and he was curious to Vaughn's, although he learned quite a bit during their conversation. He liked to have all the facts, was even told it made it made him a good agent and for reasons unknown to him he felt drawn in to the soap opera that was unfolding.  
  
Seeing as how it was now 1:30 he headed downstairs to the cafeteria to get a sandwich. He stood in line right behind a woman about his own age. She had brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail. He could not see he face but she was petit and looked exhausted, owing to her slumped shoulders and hair that had started pulling out of its constraints. He leaned forward a bit to grab the last remaining hamburger, and also to see if he could see her face. Their hands touched briefly as they picked up the same lone burger.  
  
"Take it" Malone said to her. She turned and smiled as she thanked him. She was not gorgeous as far as supermodel or heck even Sydney Bristow goes, but she was pretty in a Sandra Bullock sort of way "Thanks, so how bad is the food here? It's my first day."  
  
"Not too bad if you get her early enough when it's fresh, right now it probably tastes like raw sewage that has been warmed under a heat lamp." They both smiled at each other. "So what department are you with?" Malone asked as he looked to see what else was available for him to choke down.  
  
"Clandestine Ops, under AD Weiss" She had a big smile on her face. Malone saw the smile and assumed she was proud of the placement. He knew it was not easy to start there.  
  
"Great then we'll be working together, I'm Malone"  
  
"Murphy, nice to meet you" she answered" You the Malone that was inside at the big bust up at STG?" Malone laughed, his little moniker had somewhere along the way be come the official name.  
  
Along with like 15 other agents and an extraction team." He answered trying to be humble but so proud at the same time.  
  
"Well maybe we'll get to work together." She leaned in a bit closer as they made their way to the checkout area "So what's the scoop on Weiss. He can't always be as corny as he was during my meet with his this morning?" She asked, smiling conspiratorially.  
  
"Actually he is, but you get used to it. He's a good guy. You can't find a better person to learn from." Malone answered with a laugh. "Well, I've got to get back to work; I'll see you around, Murphy." And Malone left to head back to his office, contemplating the new girl Murphy and wondering if he should ask her to dinner something. He was surprised when he opened the door to his office to see Agent Vaughn sitting half-slumped in the visitor chair.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, what can I do for you?" Malone asked a bit nervous to be talking to this man, a newly created legend among the Agency. He and Vaughn had never actually had a conversation so Malone was not sure why the Agent was now in his office.  
  
"This is my son." Vaughn held out a picture of his and Sydney's son. The boy was the spitting image of his father. Sandy brown hair and green eyes the only thing of his mother he saw was the dimples in his lopsided smile. Malone wasn't sure what to say, so he said the only think he could think of, "good looking kid you got there."  
  
"Yeah he is, isn't he? Look I'm sorry about before, you know with me and Sydney." Vaughn seemed a bit awkward in his response.  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"She's an amazing woman; we just never could get it right."  
  
"Looks like you did at least one thing right" Malone said motioning to the picture. Vaughn looked long and hard at the picture of the young boy in a hockey uniform and smiled.  
  
"Do you have a couple of minutes? I know we haven't really gotten to know each other that well, but I can't talk to Weiss about this, not yet."  
  
Malone was surprised that Agent Vaughn wanted to talk to him about anything, but he was intensely curious as to his side of the story and he had a feeling that his curiosity was about to be satisfied.  
  
"Of course, paperwork can always wait." He smiled at Vaughn and urged him to talk.  
  
Thinking back on it, there was always something right about the two of us. From the start, we just clicked." Vaughn gave a small smile as if remembering the two of them all those many years ago. "It took me by surprise, the feelings I developed for her. I knew it was wrong form the start, but you can't stop your feelings, although I tried really hard to hide them. I think she always saw through me though. I could never fool her, no matter how hard I tried."  
  
Malone settled himself in for the long haul He sat back in his chair and took a sip of soda. "She was always so focused on her final goal, the take down of SD-6. It was humbling, her steadfast determination, but I realized that it was nice to be with someone who knew what they wanted. I had never really known what I wanted." He gave a wry grin, "I joined the Agency because my father was an agent, and he was killed in the line of duty, I figured I needed to carry on his legacy, make him proud. He was such a Company man, and that what I wanted. Or so I thought. Being with Syd though, she made me reevaluate what I wanted to be, what I wanted to leave behind."  
  
Malone started really paying attention, sitting up I his chair, he leaned forward, intent on not missing a word. He began to see the draw Vaughn had to Sydney, he was a man lost and she found him, or rather, helped him find himself.  
  
"Our lives became inextricably entwined, even if we weren't working together, as we always were, our pasts joined us together in a nightmarish way. Her mother, you see, had killed my father." Vaughn took a deep breath and continued on, it was obvious just saying that phrase was difficult for him, even now. "She was so upset about that fact, her mother had killed many people, but she was devastated that my family had been affected. She actually apologized to me for all tat her mother had done."  
  
"But it wasn't her fault" Malone jumped in.  
  
"That's what I told her. But Sydney always felt the weight of her world on her shoulders and felt responsible for so much, even if it was out of her control. It just made me love her even more. For a long time, there was no one that she could be honest with. Even her best friends had no idea what her real life was. She felt like fraud most of the time, always lying, to those that she was supposed to be closest with. I was the only one of friends that knew. I relished that role. I liked being special in her eyes. I felt it gave me an edge over her "real" life, an "in" if you would." Vaughn seemed to take a break for a minute as if trying to gather his thoughts, or figure out what he should reveal. "Towards the end of the Alliance, I knew that there was a problem, I couldn't concentrate, all I thought about was her and I told her as much. She never approached me about the tension between us; it always had to be me. I accepted that, I knew that she was focused on her goal, and more than that, I knew that she had had so much conflict and tragedy in her life, that she was not about to go out and find even more."  
  
Vaughn stopped talking and Malone wondered whether knowing, or thinking, he was considered a 'burden or trouble' in anyone's life could not be an easy role to accept. Malone also realized that in their line of work, it was the norm, the accepted reality of living a life full of constant danger. But he knew it was still most likely very hard to deal with.  
  
"When the Alliance fell, we wasted no time. We started dating almost immediately. I had never seen her so happy, and it made me happy to be a part of that. I knew that she had never had the normalcy she craved and I was honored to share it with her. She had finished school and started teaching, just as she had always wanted. We were happy, I proposed and she answered right away. The wedding planning was going smoothly." A brief pause gave Malone warning that the bulk of the troubling story was ahead, "Until I got word that my father, who I believed dead, may still be alive." Vaughn looked down again at the picture of his son. A smile lit up his face. "I only remembered my father as this larger than life man. A hero. A patriot who died for his country. To find out that he was still alive was thrilling and disconcerting all at the same time. I waited to tell Syd about what I had learned. If he was still alive then it meant that her mother, whom we had in custody had been withholding important information and could still be a threat. Weiss and I did more recon work and found a compound where my father was possibly being held. We immediately started planning for his release. That's when I told Sydney. She was not happy that I had kept it from her. When I told her that I was going to try and find him, I thought she was going to go mad. She was so angry and I couldn't understand it. I had been right there with her when her mother was found alive and I supported her in her quest to find her. But it was like that didn't matter at all, like nothing in the past had any bearing on our present or future together. I know now why she was so scared about me going, but back then, it just angered me. I didn't give her the chance to explain. I didn't even try to figure out where she was coming from. I just got it in my head that she was wrong and went anyway,"  
  
Vaughn stopped and thought about his actions 11 years ago. Malone saw the wheels turning in his mind. To him, it all started to make sense. Two people that had to trust each other with their lives had a hard time trusting their hearts and because of that they stopped talking, stopped trying. It made him sad. He saw that Vaughn never really thought that Sydney didn't care for him or care about his life. It appeared that it was just not a part of their lives. It seemed that all that mattered was them. The outside world did not seem to matter. But when that outside world crashed in on the two they did not know how to deal with it. Malone came out of his thoughts to hear Vaughn speaking again.  
  
"I left, so angry with her, with her ultimatum. I had this gut feeling I was going to die on that mission. And it didn't matter to me. I didn't have Sydney anymore so what was the point. And I was right, well almost. I wished I had died for many years. But after the first couple of years, when I finally pulled out of my funk all I thought of was her.  
  
Vaughn sighed and leaned back in the visitor's chair, staring intently at the picture of his son in his hand. "When I saw Jack in Marrakech I nearly cried. I had been so angry that the agency had apparently forgotten about me, but then there was Jack." Vaughn gave a small chuckle. "That man never liked me, but he respected me, I was one of the few who would stand up to him, who held him accountable for his misdeeds. Above all Jack is loyal, practical, but loyal. I owe him my life." There was a break in the conversation, if you could call it that, "have you met my son?"  
  
Malone was surprised at the change in topic. "No, I haven't."  
  
"Me neither. I always wanted a family."  
  
"Looks like you have always had one." Malone said slowly he wasn't sure how far he could go in sharing his observations with Agent Vaughn, "Look, I don't know what people have told you, but Sydney came back to the Agency after you "died". She looked for you for 3 years until Weiss convinced her to give up the search. I can't say that I know her that well; I can however say that she was a very unhappy. I saw her only a few times before you came back, and each time she was fighting with Weiss to keep up the search. I got the impression that she felt she had let you down. But from what it sounds like, you let each other down. It's easy to lay blame at someone else's feet. At least she owns up to her side of it. Maybe its time you start doing the same." Malone knew this was the sticky part of his advice and he only hoped that Vaughn would not be offended by him speaking so openly. "It seems to me that you had a bit of a knight in shining armor complex going on; riding in on your white horse to save the day. Maybe that was the problem, once everything was over with the Alliance, you had nothing to do, and you had no standing with her anymore. The foundation you built your relationship on was gone, and neither of you knew how to deal with the other without that foundation."  
  
Malone felt emboldened by his newfound place as a confidant to Agent Vaughn. These people had it all and threw it away for one stupid reason after another and to be honest it was pissing him off. The only one that seemed to want to fight for anything was Jack and Lord knows Malone was not going to try and give him advice.  
  
"Your right you know. It's been so easy to let Syd take the blame, that's who she has always been. But it is as much my fault. I stopped trying; I shut myself off from her. I didn't want to see what was right in from of my face. And now, I've gone and done it again. I want her back, I want to know my son, but I don't know if we're ready yet." At that Vaughn got up and walked out of the office, he sat back down in his own office next door and went back to work on his paperwork. Malone watched him for a few minutes, noticing that every few seconds he would stop and look at the picture of his son. 


	11. A Time of Love

Disclaimer- please see previous chapters for disclaimer information and add on the fact that don't own Casablanca or any of the characters in that amazing movie. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it.  
  
Authors notes- I want to send a huge thanks to those that reviewed my last chapter- Your support means a great deal to me. I am always up for constructive critism so if there is something that you don't think works please let me, of course I would love any type of feedback. I am sorry for the delay in the update. Hopefully this chapter will be worth it.  
  
I would also like to thank my sister for her awesome Betaing skills, she has really helped me get and keep this story in line and moving forward and is quick to point out when I stop making sense  
  
Also a quick apology for taking so long to update- well Real Life got in the way and then I have been laughing hysterically since the season finale, I just finally got out of the hospital for my uncontrollable laughing hAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh god its back HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH 2YEARS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MARRIED HAHAHAHAHAHA MARRIED HAHAHAHA OH Gosh I think I am okay now- anyone else thing JJ needs to stop reading fanfic? I will say that was the most hilariously outrageous frustrating awesome season finales in a long time. Glad to know Vaughn got on with his life- I HOPE ITS ALICE- God that would be funny- uh oh here is comes again HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........  
  
Chapter 9: A Time of Love  
  
August 2010 Solomans Island  
  
The air was warm, and the sun's rays stretched out across the horizon in lazy golds, reds and oranges. Malone looked out again across the beach, watching life play out before him. In the distance, the figures of woman and a child slowly moving toward him caught his attention and captivated him. They were laughing and playing on the beach, with them was a small bulldog, barely an adult. As simple and wonderful as the scene was, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing from the picturesque scene. Malone thought back to his own wonderful childhood and realized that the scene in front of him needed a father. His fathers was always out with the family and he remembered ho safe he always felt  
  
As woman and boy drew closer, Malone saw that it was not some anonymous woman and child, it was Sydney Bristow and a boy he could only assume was her son. Malone watched as the two of them frolicked in the sand, throwing a ball for the dog and just goofing around, he found himself replaying a conversation he had a few weeks earlier with his boss and mentor, Eric Weiss.  
  
"I haven't seen Agent Vaughn in a while."  
  
"Nope, he's been in France visiting with his mom again. Bastard has so much vacation time racked up I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see him till Christmas."  
  
"What about Sydney?" He had asked.  
  
"What about Sydney?" Weiss responded in a cautionary tone. Malone knew he was about to put his foot in his mouth but he couldn't seem to stop himself.  
  
"I mean, what's going on with the two of them? Are they back together?"  
  
"Let me tell you something Malone, and pay close attention to me, cause this is full of wisdom. Don't butt into others business."  
  
Weiss paused and then continued on as if he was still trying to explain something, "I have known the two for them for years. I went through training with Mike and then was Syd's handler for the years following his disappearance. Two more obstinate, hardheaded people you will never know."  
  
Weiss took a breath and settled back in his chair. For a moment, Weiss seemed to study him and then continued on, "When Syd first started, I warned Mike not to get to close, to keep a distance or he would end up getting fired, but he wouldn't listen. And you know what, he was right. They were the best team the Agency has ever had; their commitment to each other kept them strong, kept them working. They could finish each other's sentences and Vaughn always seemed to know when something was not right with Syd. It made them powerful and weak all at the same time. For a while they were happy."  
  
Weiss smiled big as he seemed to remember the time, "and trust you me, they will be again. A love like they had can't die, it just simmers in the background and sometimes it takes a new spark to re-ignite it. They have that spark now, they can do it."  
  
"Why do you think that, I mean they haven't spent any time together since he returned?"  
  
Weiss head already begun to shift his attention back to his own stacks of paperwork, and absently shrugged his shoulders as he replied, " I know they will work it out; neither of them is complete without the other. That's what made them so good, they needed each other, they fed off each other, and they will again. It's only a matter of time."  
  
He smiled as he remembered how personally hopeful he felt when he left Weiss' office that day; He was surprised at his newfound outlook on life. He had started the year so sure of himself and his choices and now he found himself ending the year a different man. He looked at the woman on the beach and realized that it was her that had made him question everything. This woman, who gave herself over and over again for her country, was able to find herself through another person. Maybe, Michael Vaughn, accepted Syd for who she was and just loved her, giving her the chance and security to grow into the an amazing person - crappy and sappy. but .. Malone never believed that love was important, but he saw in them, the most important thing of all, faith. Throughout their time as handler and agent they never lost their faith in each other. When that life ended, that faith was tested in the cruelest of ways, ultimately destroyed the relationship as it was, causing the individuals to lose sight of everything that was so important to them.  
  
It was one man's love for his daughter and his faith in her choices that changed everything, again. Jack Bristow chose to ignore the Agency's mandate that the matter was closed. He left the CIA and spent years hunting down the truth, searching for the one man he knew could make his daughter happy. In the end, led a disbelieving team of CIA agents to the rescue of Vaughn and several other agents. . In Malone's eyes it was the ultimate sacrifice.  
  
Malone's thoughts were interrupted as he caught sight of another figure appearing on the horizon. He watched closely, senses fully alert, as Sydney stopped what she was doing and watched the intruder approaching. It didn't take long for Malone to notice, that while Sydney appeared apprehensive, she didn't look like she felt threatened. It was then that he recognized the newcomer.  
  
Malone kept watching as Michael Vaughn approached Sydney and their son. Vaughn stopped and watched his son toss the ball to his dog. He slowly approached the duo and ended up standing next to Sydney as they watched Patrick together. Malone could see the tension between the two evaporate as Vaughn placed his arm around Sydney. She seemed to relax into his embrace as she put one of her arms around his waist. Malone could not hear what was being said but he saw Sydney wave her son over to the pair. The boy made his way over to his mother and stood in front of her as if listening to something of great import.  
  
Malone watched the scene unfold and began to realize the import of what he was witnessing. With all his beliefs that love would be his downfall he realized that love could actually be his salvation. 'What was the phrase, 'no man is an island'? Never before had a simple idiom meant so much to him. He knew now that he could not go it all alone. That something worth fighting for was the only way to make through of the end of the day. Sydney, Vaughn, Jack and Weiss had taught him that. Sydney, who owned up to all of her mistakes and realized whom she could not live without. Vaughn for loving someone so much that he gave away a part of himself. Jack for caring more about his daughter's happiness than his own, and Weiss, who although played for a fool, gave completely of himself to his friends and found a way to forgive without question.  
  
He looked back at the two agents and watched as the young boy gave his father a hug. He had tears in his eyes as Vaughn put his son down and the boy ran off again with his dog. His eyes were drawn again to Sydney who had turned toward Vaughn and was obviously smiling. Malone had never seen such a look of pure joy on another person's face. He found himself overjoyed at another's happiness, which was a new feeling for him. Malone never thought that he would be where he was at that moment and from the look of things neither had Sydney and Vaughn.  
  
"Hey, you ready to go?" A voice behind him asked.  
  
Malone turned a bit to see his girlfriend of 2 months staring at him.  
  
"Yeah give me sec." He turned back to the beach and smiled big as he saw the scene unfold before him.  
  
"Whoa, is that Agents Vaughn and Bristow?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, it is. Come on, lets get out of here."  
  
"I didn't know they were dating." She asked, still staring at the couple on the beach.  
  
"They're not."  
  
"But then why are they kissing?" she asked truly perplexed.  
  
"Because their finally ready."  
  
Malone and the woman watched for a few seconds longer and then left the beach all together. He had no idea where his road would take him, but he was ready for whatever lay ahead, he had learned from the best what the most important things in life were. 


End file.
